By Kevin Durso, Sports Talk Philly editor 

When the Flyers concluded play before the holiday break on Dec. 23, the holiday spirit was alive and well. They had just defeated the New York Rangers, 5-1, to head into the break with a 21-11-5 record through 37 games. Just shy of the halfway point of the season, they were up to 21 wins simply replicating that kind of production would easily put them above 95 points and likely into the playoff picture.

That was before the annual post-Christmas trip out West as Disney on Ice takes over Wells Fargo Center.

It was a trip that the Flyers had posted a 2-13-3 in the previous four seasons. But this season was already starting to feel different. The Flyers were playing very competitive hockey. There was rarely a game that they weren’t at least knocking on the door of points. They had even entered the break with a four-game winning streak, an authoritative response to a three-game losing streak on the road the week they all learned of Oskar Lindblom’s Ewing’s sarcoma diagnosis. It made that one week feel like more of a one-off than a trend. Even with a road record of 8-9-1 on the season, the Flyers had seen times when they could be just as competitive away from home. Their month of November as a whole was tremendous, so much so that you may not realize they actually had a better record on the road than at home -- 6-2-0 on the road and 4-0-4 at home. 

But a 1-4-1 record on the six-game road trip that concluded on Tuesday has certainly changed all narratives. The Flyers are facing an important crossroads as the schedule returns to feature plenty of games at home -- six of the next seven games in fact.

Before providing perspective on the road trip as a whole, here’s how the road trip went from bad to worse in a hurry night by night.

By Kevin Durso, Sports Talk Philly editor 

The Flyers were staring another loss in the face when Travis Sanheim made a great individual play to get the game tied with 4:11 to play. It helped the Flyers get something that has eluded them for the majority of the road trip: a standings point.

Sanheim was on the unfortunate end of the Flyers demise in overtime, however, losing his stick as the Hurricanes cycled the puck. He ended up in front of Brian Elliott as Dougie Hamilton fired through the five-hole to seal a 5-4 win for the Hurricanes over the Flyers, giving them their fourth straight loss and a 1-4-1 record on a six-game road trip on Tuesday night.

By Kevin Durso, Sports Talk Philly editor 

Two games into the new year, the results have changed very little for the Flyers. Their first game of 2020 saw them allow four first-period goals in Vegas. Their second in Arizona on Saturday saw another three goals allowing in yet another disappointing first period. 

It has been a long and trying road trip for the Flyers, who are 1-4-0 so far in five games. The road trip finally comes to an end on Tuesday night as the Flyers face the Carolina Hurricanes.

Game time is 7 p.m.

It's the first brand new You Would Think episode of the new year and to start 2020, there is a lot to break down regarding the Flyers terrible week and road trip on the West coast.

Co-hosts Kyle Collington and Mike Giletto Sr. look back at an unmemorable road trip through five of six games away from home after the holiday break and look at the rest of the Eastern Conference standings in the wake of the Flyers struggles. They also analyze the development of Ivan Provorov and take a closer look at the All-Star Game roster announcement and the first appearance for Flyers forward Travis Konecny.

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Follow producer Mike Giletto Jr. on Twitter @Mike_Giletto

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By Kevin Durso, Sports Talk Philly editor 

The Flyers will certainly say good riddance to any West coast competition for the remainder of the season. The Flyers road trip went from bad to worse with another dismal first period.

The Arizona Coyotes had more than enough to earn the win with a three-goal first period, and the Flyers lost their third straight by a score of 6-2 in Arizona on Saturday night.

By Kevin Durso, Sports Talk Philly editor 

The first game of 2020 for the Flyers went a lot like their last of 2019. A little too much, in fact. The Flyers allowed four first-period goals for the second straight game. They trailed 5-2 to Vegas and were able to claw their way back to within a goal with nearly an entire period to go. A late 6-on-3 gave the Flyers a golden opportunity to get the game tied, and they were unable to do so, falling to 1-3-0 on the six-game road trip.

That has made Saturday's game that much more important. The losses on the road trip to San Jose, Los Angeles and Vegas have not really been as close as the scores would indicate -- a 5-3 loss to LA and a 5-4 loss to Vegas -- and the Flyers need to respond with a road effort that not only gets them back in the win column, but helps boost the numbers on the road. They take on the Arizona Coyotes on Saturday night in the final game on the West coast.

Game time is 8 p.m.

By Kevin Durso, Sports Talk Philly editor 

Hopefully what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas.

If the New Year's Eve debacle in Los Angeles, a four-goal first period to a team at the bottom of the Western Conference, wasn't bad enough, the Flyers neared topped it on Thursday night in Vegas.

The Flyers got the game's first goal for a change, but the lead was short-lived and Vegas struck for three goals in a 2:45 span. When the Flyers got back into the game with another goal, Vegas answered back to extend the lead to two again with the second four-goal first period against the Flyers in as many games.

The Flyers managed to rally back to make it a game, taking a 5-2 deficit to a 5-4 deficit early in the third, but that was as close as they would get in yet another loss on the road, this time to the Vegas Golden Knights.

By Kevin Durso, Sports Talk Philly editor 

The Flyers first game of 2020 also marks the halfway point of the regular season. While it has been a fairly successful one so far, the current six-game road trip has tested the Flyers.

The Flyers have a 1-2-0 record on the six-game road trip so far, and that includes two rather lackluster losses in San Jose and Los Angeles. The road trip continues with a stop against the Vegas Golden Knights, as the Flyers look to get back into the win column.

Game time is at 10 p.m.

Lipinski & Watkins breakdown the #Eagles NFC East Division win over the #Giants.

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• #SchmuckOfTheWeek: #Rampage Jackson

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By Kevin Durso, Sports Talk Philly editor 

The first half of the 2019-20 season has been a solid one for the Flyers, but their struggles on the road are certainly becoming more and more profiled. After coming out of the break with an embarrassing 6-1 loss to the Sharks, the Flyers answered back with a win in overtime in Anaheim. In their final game of the decade, the team that struggled in San Jose was back on display.

The Los Angeles Kings entered the game averaging 2.54 goals per game, but struck for four in the opening period. That helped them cruise to a win over the Flyers on New Year's Eve by a score of 5-3.